Just Staying Up
by imperial1scout
Summary: A night with the others turns to a simple night shared between Sora and Kairi as they enjoy a quiet moment with one another. Post KHIII-ish. Kind of post a-future-end-of-the-series, assuming things end happy. Written to help with the sting of KHIII's ending if you're a SoKai fan. SoraXKairi. Fluffy. Oneshot.


Takes place in the vague future, presumably after the series has ended.

Written to ease the pain I felt after the end of KHIII. If you are also in pain, I hope it can do something to ease yours as well.

* * *

Things had started pretty sensibly. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had dropped by Destiny Islands to visit them, and, of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, Riki's home was the easiest to get free, so Kairi and Sora joined Riku to meet the King and his companions.

Kairi was grateful for the chance to spend increased time with the otherworldly trio. The opportunity to speak with them had rarely presented itself to her, and it gave her the ability to hear some familiar stories from some different angles… And hopefully some stories that she'd never heard at all.

So Kairi made sure to seat herself near Donald and Goofy over their takeout dinner, and when Sora got wrapped up in a discussion with Riku and Mickey, she leaned over and got Donald's attention.

"So, what is it like?" she asked with a grin, "Adventuring with Sora?"

She had expected the impetuous duck to have been her best source for new details, and Donald did have some amusing things to say, certainly. Some stories of Sora's mistakes that, somehow, he had never ended up recounting in his own discussions with her. But, to her surprise, it was Goofy who turned out to be the true treasure trove of details.

He was much more even-handed in his approach to storytelling. For one, he set the record straight on many of Donald's tales (turns out Sora wasn't the only one leaving out details of mistakes made.) But Goofy did more than tell stories fairly. Somehow he seemed to know what Kairi really wanted to hear, maybe better than she did. While topics worth some future teasings were all well and good, Goofy told her about Sora's effect and connection with people.

Sora, despite certainly having his own degree of pride, (a perfectly healthy degree, in Kairi's opinion), he didn't speak as much about the effect he had on other people. His stories often highlighted other people's greatness instead. Even as he described epic clashes with the forces of darkness, Sora always made mention of the power and courage of his companions.

Kairi had heard of Hercules' return to strength, and how he had sacrificed himself to save another. She had heard of Aladdin's bravery, Simba's power, and Peter Pan's cunning. Jack Skellington's devotion and Woody's strength of heart. But she hadn't heard of Sora's sensitivity to the pain of others. His constant attempts to right what was wrong. She'd known of those he'd tried to save, but she didn't know of the instant reactions Sora had given, how he'd thrown himself in to save them without so much as a second thought, with no doubt or hesitation of any kind.

Well, she did. She knew those things. Instinctively she knew they were true. She knew Sora could never leave someone hurting. She knew he would always attempt to help and heal whoever he could. She had seen and experienced the depth of his heart herself.

But she hadn't heard the details. And she loved them.

And Goofy, surprisingly, was simply willing to give as many of them as possible.

"A-hyuck! He was always real happy to see people fall in love, too. I think it brought him to tears a couple of times."

"And that's—What?"

On the other side of Kairi, Sora interrupted his conversation with Riku and Mickey and snapped his head over to them.

Sora, it seemed, had finally realized what his other friends were talking about.

He fixed his attention on his frequent companions. His eyes darted rapidly from Donald and Goofy, paused once on Kairi's, then locked into Goofy.

"Who—What'd I do?"

"Yeah!" Donald said, joining in gleefully and elbowing Kairi, "I think he was usually thinking of someone else when he did."

Donald laughed, in that odd sort of chuckle he did, while Sora's fully caught on to the conversation at hand. Despite the dim light of the kitchen, Kairi could see his face darken as blood surged into it.

"Hey! Why don't—what are you—I didn't..." he sputtered, his fragmented attempts at some sort of response trailing into a groan.

Donald and Goofy both laughed, hard. Such laughter came easy to them, it seemed, as they threw their whole bodies into it, rocking in their chairs, holding their stomachs, and banging on the table. Sora rubbed the back of his head and tossed Kairi an embarrassed, and seemingly worried, glance.

Already grinning, she beamed at him in response.

This seemed to help whatever worry he had, though his already red face darkened further. He turned his attention back to Donald and Goofy and smiled as well.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, I guess." He said good-naturedly.

They did. More than Kairi found necessary for the subject, but she supposed she had a slightly different view on it that they did.

After all, with the warmth she felt in her cheeks, suspected her face matched Sora's in color.

With Sora aware of the stories Donald and Goofy were feeding Kairi, she didn't get much more out of them. But even if Sora had remained clueless, she doubted she would have been able to mine any more information anyway, for it was after that things steered into insanity.

Sora convinced Riku to pull out some party games, games that Kairi suspected Sora had supplied, as they didn't seem to be Riku's style, and then the noise of the night skyrocketed. As the games went along, they got more and more ridiculous, and the group got louder and louder.

Kairi, Mickey, and Goofy found themselves at the mercy of the much more competitive spirits of Sora and Donald, and Riku's own love for competition soon got the better of him as well. Hours passed as friendly arguments broke out, jokes were created, and unexpected victories claimed. Riku kept edging Sora out of competitions, Goofy somehow won a game of cards (despite not understanding the rules,) and Mickey proved to be quite cunning when he needed to be.

Kairi tended to lose spectacularly, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. She wasn't in the games to win them. She loved to observe her friend's interactions, laugh at their jokes, and to see how they all fit in with each other. That's what she cared about, and she could do that just as easily from the bottom of the scoreboard. Easier even.

She'd never been one to want to be the center of attention. She loved to see everyone in their element. And, besides, she would never be able to pull the attention away from Sora even if she wanted to.

He captured it naturally, unintentionally. Sora was so into everything. He wore every emotion on his sleeve, broadcasted his thoughts and feelings so clearly that it was just fun to watch him. He'd cheer when the slightest thing went right for him, groan loudly when anything went wrong, shout his surprise at the smallest change in fate, and congratulate anyone on any good fortune.

He was always the same in everything he did. With everyone he interacted with. Tabletop games, playing on the island, or saving the worlds, he was always the same Sora, so in love with life. He energized any group, brought out smiles in all those around him.

Especially her.

She loved that about him.

And, even with all this going on, he would send her messages only meant for her. Small smiles and subtle expressions. Mouthed words. Whispered thoughts. He was connected to all these people and, somehow, he made their connection special.

Because it was. They both knew it.

(And so did everyone else.)

It was on these thoughts that Kairi found herself dwelling as the night went on, and slipped further and further away.

The games devolved into shallow parodies of themselves as the rules were increasingly ignored in favor of quick (and frequently unbalanced) play. By the time the last one was finished, about the only thing the game they played and the one they were supposed to be playing was the name they were calling it.

By that point interest in games was waning, but it seemed Sora was not about to let the night end. Even though it had already well passed midnight, and hints of tiredness crept into everyone's actions, he pushed it on.

Drinks with enough caffeine to wire half the islands were brought out, and music was blasted through the house, and the rambunctious group pushed the night well past the point of any reasonable endtime.

The music choices ended up being completely schizophrenic as different people pushed for different picks. Riku choices were odd, by artists no one else had heard of, and difficult to dance to without being familiar with the songs already. So his selections were edged out pretty early into the music choices.

Mickey had an odd mix, with some rather formal old-fashioned songs and some more modern choices that fit their group, Donald had some good selections but often wanted to perform Karaoke to them (to everyone's horror), and Goofy pulled out a number of odd songs, including one that seemed to be about a road trip, which he belted out at the top of his lungs. Kairi realized her own choices wouldn't fit the mood and declined suggesting any.

Sora didn't suggest anything either, but went along with everyone's else's choices, dancing and singing his best for whatever fit the mood, as erratic as that mood was. Kairi couldn't help but smile broadly at the enthusiasm he displayed. She was surprised to find how prepared to he was for the changes in style for both the singing and dancing. She decided she'd have to ask him later where he picked up skills that allowed him to breakdance at one moment and sing along to a ballad at the next.

But then things had to wrap up. It was well into the morning, the caffeine was leaving their systems, everyone was crashing, and not even Sora's continued insistence to keep going could could deter the end. Mickey had duties to his kingdom to address, and pushing anything further would be irresponsible.

So, he, Donald, and Goofy made their goodbyes and left. It seemed their unplanned, unhinged, and unforgettable night had ended.

At least, with all the others.

When the door shut behind the departing trio, Riku stretched and turned to both Sora and Kairi.

"I'm heading to bed." He started, "If—"

"What, you don't want to keep going with just us?" Sora interrupted, tiredness palpably flowing from him, "it'd be like when we had sleepovers as kids!"

Heavy bags hung from Sora's eyes, and his lids drooped. He gave an unusually clumsy "come on" gesture to Riku, further emphasizing just how bad an idea his words conveyed.

Not that Kairi could talk, she felt just as tired as Sora looked. She had no idea what her own appearance suggested, but she swayed a little on her feet and her thoughts stumbled through her mind, clumsily arriving about a half-second later than they should.

In fact, between the three of them, Riku looked the most up to anything.

"Yeah, whatever." Riku snorted, "you both look like you're about to pass out." He pointed down his hall. "There's blankets in the closet if you wanna crash here. The couch and spare bedroom are both open."

He departed to his room with a backwards wave, and left Sora and Kairi standing there by themselves. Sora took a step past Kairi to the closet, then stopped.

"Aw, it's a shame it has to be over." Sora said, rubbing the back of his head.

"How late were you planning on going, Sora?" Kairi asked his back, giggling slightly. She'd been rather giggly all night and had still yet to excise it from her system.

Sora gave an unconcerned shrug and threw his head back to give Kairi an upside-down grin.

"I dunno," he said casually, "whenever we stopped, I guess."

Kairi laughed again, "Well, then I think you got what you wanted, silly. This was when we stopped."

Sora's grinned broadened and he leaned back further, looking for all the world like he was going to fall over. Kairi tried to hide a matching smile with her hand.

"Yeah, well, it'd still be nice." He said.

"Sora," she asked, laughing again, "what are you doing?"

His face turned thoughtful as he peered upside-down at her. "I don't know," his grin reappeared and he shrugged again, "something."

Kairi couldn't hold it anymore and dissolved into a fit of giggles. It wasn't really that funny, but a night full of laughter and some sleep deprivation had a way of making everything hilarious.

She clutched her stomach and sank to the floor, briefly reminding herself of Donald and Goofy earlier that night, before the image of Sora's upside down face smiling at her floated back into her mind and her laughing fit redoubled.

Sora laughed too. He flipped around and steadied himself on his knees as silent laughter shook his body.

Kairi glanced up from the floor into his face. "W-what are you la-laughing at?" She asked, barely getting out the words.

"You!" He said in an equally shaky reply, waving a hand at her on the floor, "What are—what are you laughing at?!"

She struggled to reply through the laughter. "You!" She forced out in a shout.

That finished them off. Kairi broke into her strongest giggly-fit yet, and completely collapsed. Sora fell down to his hands and knees and laughed hard and loud.

They stayed that way for a while. Every time they seemed close to finishing their fit of hysterics, they'd meet each other's eyes and start laughing again. After what felt like forever, the pair of them found themselves lying next to each other on the floor and wiping tears of laughter off their cheeks, finally gaining enough control of themselves to maybe be able to resume some sort of normal conversation.

Kairi felt like a child again. It reminded her of the days before everything went crazy, when it was just the three of them playing together on the island. She laughed easier then, more openly. It wasn't like she felt that she'd changed, but life had changed around her. The trials forced on all of them had changed them, she recognized that.

But now they—he—was back. Kairi inclined her head toward Sora, smiling through the tips of his hair at the ceiling.

"It's been a while since I've laughed like that. My stomach hurts." She said softly, placing her hands on complaining abs.

Sora turned to her as well, gently bumping her head with his own. "Really? That's too bad. I'll have to make sure the next laugh attack comes much sooner."

Kairi gave a quiet chuckle. Sora spoke with a bright, though still fervent tone, pretending as if this was a serious matter. Maybe he thought it was.

"No! No more! Not now. I need a break." She leaned her head against Sora's and sighed. "That was a good night."

"It's not over yet," Sora replied, "we're still up at 'em, aren't we?"

"Mmm," Kairi allowed her eyes to gently drift closed,"I'm not sure I'd say we're 'up', exactly."

A flurry of motion startled her eyes back open, just in time to see Sora land unsteadily on his feet. He offered a hand out to her, smiling broadly.

"Well, c'mon then! Let's get goin'."

"Going where?" She asked sleepily, reluctantly taking his hand and bracing herself to get yanked to her feet.

He gently eased her up. She gave him a thankful smile, which he acknowledged with a softer, less exuberant grin.

"Well, let's get those blankets Riku was talking about," Sora answered, taking her hand in his own and interlacing their fingers, "maybe we could watch a movie or something."

She squeezed his hand. "Okay."

A pile of blankets was located, and a few minutes later Kairi was bundled up on Riku's couch while Sora blundered around the room searching for the TV remote.

"Shh! Not so loud!" Kairi whisper-yelled after Sora knocked a plate to the ground, "we don't want to wake up Riku."

Sora halted his search and shot her a bashful smile. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Kairi said, grinning at his antics, "if he didn't react to our laugh-fest earlier it's probably fine, but still…"

"Yeah." Sora said distractedly as his tired eyes scanned the floor and furniture.

He stood there for a while, just staring, seemingly trying to locate where the remote had gone without needing to move. On one hand, just standing made a kind of sense. Limiting movement, especially when one was tired, was a perfectly reasonable decision. But Kairi noted to herself that such a decision really wasn't Sora's style.

In fact, he'd been standing there for a few seconds too long. He'd obviously blanked.

"Hey, why don't you sit for a second," Kairi offered, unwrapping herself from her blanket cocoon, "take a break."

He jolted back to reality at her words. He blinked a few times, then nodded, dragged himself over to the couch, and plopped down next to her.

"Aaaah…" Sora groaned.

Kairi giggled and shook her head. She helped drape the blankets over his shoulder and snuggled closer to him, enjoying the shared warmth. After a few moments of repositioning, he got settled, and under the blankets Kairi took Sora's hand in hers. It was something she wouldn't have done even a few years ago, despite knowing how she felt about him for a long time.

There just had never seemed a need to her to rush. Of all the things she'd decided, all the things she'd done, she had always found herself absolutely sure of who she was and how she felt. And with Sora, how she felt…

"It was always you, you know." She said, more to herself than him, running her eyes over his familiar features.

"Huh?" He asked, turning to her.

They were quite close now. Faces mere inches apart. At this range she could see the gears turning behind his eyes as he reacted to her comment. She smiled at him.

"Me?" He asked, brow furrowing, "What was me?"

Kairi held his gaze for a few moments, just enjoying the moment.

"Mmm," She said simply, "I'll tell you in a bit. Did you enjoy spending time with Donald and Goofy again?"

His tired eyes searched hers, gears still turning. After a few moments, he shrugged, a motion Kairi felt with her whole body, and moved on.

"Yeah, of course!" He said cheerfully, looking away to reminisce, "They've been through so much with me. I couldn't have done it without them."

He grinned, the smile pulling his eyes out of their tired state. Almost a symbol of some of his enthusiasm pushing back his tiredness. It seemed fitting.

"It's always great to see them. It's like with you and Riku: whenever we're together again, it doesn't matter how long we've been apart, it's like we just saw each other."

"Mmm." Kairi said in agreement, resting her head back against the couch.

"True friendships survive the passage of time." Sora placed his free hand over his heart. "Our hearts link together and form an unbreakable bond."

His optimism shone through him in just about everything he did. Kairi smiled at him. It seemed he couldn't help but bring up the subject of hearts and connections whenever he talked about his friends.

Sora turned to her and caught the look of amused adoration she was sending him. He looked away, likely blushing a little, though Kairi couldn't tell from her angle. She leaned forward.

"I suppose you would know, wouldn't you?" She said.

"Hm?" He looked back.

"You've been to so many places and made so many friends." Kairi said, placing her unoccupied hand over Sora's heart, like he'd done, "connected your heart with all of them."

He was definitely blushing now. With her hand placed on his chest, she could even feel his pulse quicken. His smile broadened all the way to his eyes. Underneath their pile of shared blankets, he squeezed her hand.

It was a vulnerable feeling, to have someone pay such attention to you as she was to him. A pleasant, wonderful feeling, in her experience, and one she knew Sora was no stranger to giving others. But of course, this wasn't just the experience either of them gave to someone else. The experience was different between them. This was something more.

She was glad that he found joy in it. She did too. And she wanted him to feel completely safe with her, as she felt with him.

"I have," Sora said, still smiling, "I've been lucky to have made so many friends." His smile turned sly, or sly as it could for him. "But there was always one connection my heart has made that I've treasured more than any other." His eyes met hers. "One that's kept me strong through the darkest times."

Now it was Kairi's turn to blush. She looked away as a smile spread uncontrollably across her face. Yes, it certainly was a vulnerable, wonderful feeling.

As the moment stretched on, she felt her face warming further, and with her pale skin she was sure she was broadcasting like a beacon. A gift from her redhead genes.

She stole a peek to see Sora obviously quite pleased with himself. Somewhere along the way Sora had realized, at least in some small part, the effect he had on her. She couldn't complain, but it was something that would certainly be keeping her on her toes from now on.

"Same here." Kairi said simply.

There they both was a moment of pleasant silence before Sora spoke up again.

"It seemed you were enjoying talking to them." He said.

It took her a moment to connect his comment to what'd been said earlier. Donald and Goofy, right. She turned back to him, allowing herself a sly smile of her own. "Yes, I enjoyed it."

"Oh, wonderful," he said, mild sarcasm tingeing his words, "Care to share what you were talking about?"

"Hmm," She replied, looking over his expectant face, "You'll hear soon enough."

Sora chuckled and Kairi shot him an innocent smile. He shook his head.

"Yes, I'm sure I will." He muttered in mock-despair.

Kairi giggled in response, and leaned back into the couch. "They told me some good stuff… Like how you apparently wanted to be king of a lion pack at one point?"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Oh c'mon, I wasn't going to accept it!"

"What?" Kairi said laughing, "You wanted to be a lion king?"

"Hey," he said defensively, "what, you think I couldn't do it?"

Kairi pretended to scrutinize him. "Weeeell…"

"Gee, thanks." He snorted.

Kairi laughed again, though Sora just smiled. Kairi's smile faded and she observed him for a moment. Watched the movement of his eyes. It seemed he may have been a little hurt by her words. Sora wasn't the type to let things like that bother him for long, and he certainly wouldn't hold it against her, so if she wanted she could just ignore it and continue their conversation. But she didn't like Sora being down, even a little.

"Hey," she said gently, squeezing his hand, "I think I'm a little biased, though. If you became King of some other world how would I get time to see you? You'd have all these 'kingly duties' to attend to, and you'd be too busy for me. That makes you unfit in my book."

Sora smiled at her, and squeezed back. "I'll never be too busy for you, Kairi."

Kairi smiled again, feeling a little warmth on her cheeks again. Yes, cheering up Sora was always worth it in her book.

"But I suppose you're right, though," Sora said thoughtfully, "It seems like Queen Minnie almost never gets time to be with Mickey at all."

Kairi's heart skipped a beat and the whole world seemed further away for a moment. She felt vertigo, like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. Blood raced through her veins as she ran Sora's words through her head. Had he just compared their relationship to Mickey and Minnie's? The King and Queen? The married King and Queen? Her eyes darted to the crown necklace Sora wore. Did he know what he was saying?

"Still, you could always visit there." Sora continued in the same tone. He glanced at her. "I wonder what you'd look like as a Lion."

Nope, he didn't have a clue. Kairi let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She forced her mind back in the moment.

"W-what was-uh-what was that?" She stammered.

"You, as a lion." He explained helpfully, "That king thing was in the Pride Lands, and when we went there we were all turned into animals. Donald was a bird-uh, I mean, a different bird, a flying one-Goofy was a turtle thing, and I got turned into a lion cub."

Kairi eased her breathing, the world finally returning to its proper distance. Then, the last bit of Sora's sentence hit her.

"Wait, you were a lion cub?" Kairi asked incredulously, a smile spreading across her face.

Sora covered his face in his hand. "Well, no, I wasn't a cub, I mean… I was bigger than that. I just wasn't exactly, y'know, full grown."

Kairi couldn't contain herself. "Oh, you must have been so cute!"

Kairi had seen Sora in a number of embarrassing situations. He found himself in them often, a side effect of running into situations without fully understanding them, as he often did. But she'd never seen his face turn as brilliant a shade of red as it did at that moment. She lost herself in a mini-giggle fit.

Sora released her hand and covered his face with both of his own, groaning. "Yeah, I guess."

She laughed harder. He gave a self-conscious chuckle, shaking his head.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, still grinning like mad but slightly more contained. "Tell you what: You'll have to take me there sometime."

He met her eyes, then glanced away. After a few moments he glanced back and nodded. "It's a deal."

He shot her one of his trademark "Sora Grins", as she thought of them. She came down from her laughter high and considered Sora. Here he was, again reminding her of how he was always the same in everything he did. He just followed his heart into everything he wanted to do. Sure, it may land him in some embarrassing situations, but he clearly found it worth that. It was worth being that open to him, the price of any social missteps was clearly one he was willing to pay. And the reason he was always the same is because he was so honest, so open in about everything he did. It made him consistent.

Kairi reached across herself with her unoccupied hand and grabbed Sora's again.

"Sora, don't ever change." She said simply.

He met her eyes with a curious expression on his face. She knew he was thinking of the last time she said that to him. A lifetime ago, the last sunset before everything fell apart. She wondered if he knew what she meant. Sora broke into another grin and nodded. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. It probably didn't matter. Sora was who he was, and nothing could change him.

They sat there for a moment. The mood was different now. The waning night had changed its breathing. Everything felt closer, and more personal to them. They felt like the only people in all the worlds who were awake, that they could share anything with each other. There was no rush to do anything, nothing to get to. It was just the two of them, together.

Kairi's favorite moments in existence.

She repositioned herself, releasing Sora's hand from hers and grabbing it with the other. She scooted herself even closer to him, and laid her head on his shoulder.

There was an almost inaudible gasp. In the quiet room she could easily hear the subtle intake of breath as she laid her head down. It made her smile. He was nervous.

So was she. She felt her pulse quicken once more as she rested against him. The blood sped through her veins so fast she wondered if Sora could feel it through their clasped hands.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Her heart pounded on, despite the tiredness she felt.

Then, after a few forever seconds, Sora leaned his head into hers.

There was a second surge of excitement, and she calmed. She knew how he felt now. She knew that he accepted and enjoyed this. And she'd known he would, but there was a small, persistent, relentless part of her that doubted.

They rested together, in the quiet darkness of the night, just enjoying each other's presence. As the time went on, Kairi felt her thoughts slowing further and further. She knew that if she didn't move, she'd fall asleep.

But she didn't move. It was too comfortable and she was enjoying the moment far too much. And, besides, what would be so wrong with falling asleep right here?

"So, can I ask what you meant earlier?" Sora asked, his words chugging through her half-conscious musings.

"Mmmh?" She opened her eyes, surprised to find they were even closed in the first place. She ran Sora's question through her mind again, trying to make sense of it.

"...earlier, you said… well…" He trailed off.

Kairi frowned, concentrating. He was nervous again, though what about she couldn't rightly tell. It'd really help if her brain wasn't being so slow.

"Said what?" She breathed.

"Ah, it's nothing." He said, with some confidence.

Confidence that would have convinced most people. But Kairi, even as tired as she was, could tell that the confidence was fake. She lifted her head partially off his shoulder and peered at him.

"What'd I…oh!" It hit her. What'd she said earlier. She smiled at him.

He gave a nervous smile back. With their faces a mere inch apart, she could see all the little subtleties of his expression. Nervous but hopeful.

Kairi laid her head back down on his shoulder and smiled. "It was always you." She whispered.

Sora remained quiet, most likely waiting for her to explain. She was more than happy to oblige.

"Everyone—well, Selphie and the rest—they'd talk about how Riku was there for me. The strong, athletic star of the islands and the girl from another world. We were the subject of gossip, and everyone just assumed that I'd want him." Kairi said.

She allowed her eyes to drift close again. It seemed to help her sense the room around her, the feeling of her body pressed against Sora's. He seemed to be holding his breath.

"Selphie would sometimes try to ask me about it. Y'know, things like teasing questions about the time I spent with him. I think she got frustrated that it never seemed to bother me."

Kairi yawned, bringing her free hand to her mouth. Sora was definitely holding his breath, and he seemed to be holding her hand a little tighter now.

Her brain drifted off, and she forgot the through line of what she was saying for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked after a few seconds, evidently unable to contain himself.

Kairi opened her eyes again and played back what she'd just said in her head.

"Well, it never bothered me because she was wrong. It wasn't Riku, it was you. It was always you. Riku is a wonderful person, and I know he'll always be there for me when I need him, but…"

Kairi trailed off. She awoke slightly, trying to figure out how to explain what she was saying.

"But… you remember how it was when we were kids, when we first met? I'd just arrived and I didn't have any friends or anything. I didn't know anyone. And then these two boys showed up and introduced themselves. And one of them became my friend instantly. That boy made me feel like I was welcome in this new place."

Kairi lifted up her head again to look Sora in the eyes. He was listening with such intensity it took her back for a moment.

"The boy was kind of a goofball; the other one was clearly the leader. But I'd never met someone who took others into his life so willingly. And right then, when I didn't have anyone, didn't remember anything, I desperately needed that connection."

Kairi leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "You gave it to me. So, since that moment, it was always you."

She laid her head back down and closed her eyes again. "Thank you, Sora."

There was a long, long moment of silence, during which Sora didn't do so much as move a muscle. Kairi again felt her brain drifting off, until finally Sora spoke again.

"Y-you're welcome. I just… I'm glad I met you, then. That—that I could be there when you needed it." Sora said.

Even through his stuttering he sounded quite happy, content. Kairi smiled.

"You know, you were the first person I made friends with like that…" he continued, "that seems fitting. It started with you."

Kairi wasn't quite sure what to say about that. But they'd said a lot tonight, so words were probably unnecessary for now. There would be time, plenty of time, for them to talk about those things. She didn't need to say anything right now.

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug instead, linking her hands together over his other shoulder. He grabbed her forearm as a way to reciprocate. She sighed again. She felt content, whole, as she lay there.

And lay there she did, arms hanging off one of his shoulders and head resting on the other as her mind slowed further and further. The long night, of enjoy games and company, had ended perfectly with their failed attempt to watch a movie. Time spent with just Sora was so precious to her that a failed plan would be the highlight of her night. And in her future she saw a more of such nights and days stretching on past her imagination.

It was with this comforting thought that sleep finally took her.


End file.
